By Tim Gayle
After having his 2023 season cut short by a season-ending knee injury, Cooper Davis looked forward to returning to the court in 2024.
Catholic’s No. 1 singles player missed almost all of his junior season and didn’t want to take his senior season for granted.
“Last year I played one or two matches and I actually fell while I was having a lesson,” Davis said. “So I was out for the rest of the season, out for six months and didn’t play tournaments or matches for 10 months. So this year was super special. I just tried to focus on how I was lucky just to be out there and I was going to enjoy every match and every minute of it.”
He certainly had reason to enjoy it. In an area where some of the state’s top tennis players reside, Davis defeated the No. 1 players from Montgomery Academy (John Alford), Trinity (Samuel Treadwell) and Saint James (Danny Trock).
“I’m super proud of those big three matches,” Davis said. “All three of those have always been huge tennis programs and they’ve always had great players. With the mindset that I have nothing to lose, I’ve been out there just trying to have fun and play good tennis. That’s what carried me through it.”
His performance this season earned the respect of the Capital City Conference coaches, who selected Davis as the CCC Player of the Year. Montgomery Academy’s David Bethea was the Coach of the Year.
ALL-CAPITAL CITY CONFERENCE
BOYS TENNIS TEAM
John Alford 6-0 Jr. Montgomery Academy
Jackson Brown 5-10 So. Montgomery Academy
Cooper Davis 6-5 Sr. Catholic
Samuel Treadwell 6-2 Sr. Trinity
James Treadwell 6-1 Jr. Trinity
Danny Trock 5-3 So. Saint James
Player of the Year: Cooper Davis, Catholic
Coach of the Year: David Bethea, Montgomery Academy
Honorable mention: Charlie Franklin, 5-7, Jr., Trinity; Max Freeman, 5-11, Sr., Catholic; Ford Morano, 5-7, Fr., Montgomery Academy; Michael Phan, 5-4, Jr., Saint James; Sawyer Speagle, 5-7, 8th, Trinity; Edwin Wu, 5-2, Jr., Montgomery Academy.